Fifth-wheel



(No Model.) l

. J. M. HERNDON.

FIFTH WEBEL. No. 305,077.. Patented Sept. 16, `1884.

'Unrrnn Srhrns -arnNr @Prion JAMES MILTON HERNDON, OF JUDSONIA,ARKANSAS.

FIFTH-WHEEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 305,077, datedSeptember 16, 1884.

(No model.)

T0 all whom, t may concern.:

Be it known that I, JAMES M. HERNDON, a citizen ofthe United States,residing at Judsonia, in the county of White and State of Arkansas, haveinvented certain newand useful Improvements in King Bolt and Carriage-Coupling; and I do declare the following` to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference beinghadV to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures ofreference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention has relation to king-bolts and carriage-couplings,including braces and bol ster-plates.

After twenty years of experience in the repairing and manufacturing ofbuggies, wagons, &c., Ihave noticed that two-thirds of the repairing onbuggies and carriages is on the old-fashioned iifth-wheel and clipking-bolts. I have the pleasure to announce that I have at last inventeda combination coupling that will do away with all such arrangements. Thefifthwheel and clip king-bolts are always worn out when the buggy orcarriage is still good. I claim that the combination which I haveinvented will be good when the buggy or carriage is past use.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is front view of my invention,showing the kingbolt a and lips b, c, d, e, andf. Fig. 2isafront view ofmy invention, showing the king-bolt a, and a face View of my attachmentg forrepairing vehicles already manufactured.' Fig. 3 is a top view ofmy top brace, h, secured to spring z', and of the quarter-circle c ofthe top bolster-plate, j, also showing lip b and the nut on the upperthreaded end of the king-bolt a. Fig. tis a side view of my invention,showing the top brace, h, bottom brace, h', and the additional centerbrace, 7c. Fig. 5 is a face view of the center brace, k. Fig. 6 is anedge view of my attachment shown in Fig. 2, and of the front end ofbrace h', having lip f.

My invention is described as follows:

At the center of the axle Z, I project a lip,

e, either by enlarging the axle at this point or by means of theattachment g, which is firmly secured to the front face of the axlelbymeans of bolts or screws g', its lip e extending to the front, and itsheele` extending backward under the axle.

On the top face of the wooden part of the axle Z, I securelyboltabolster-plate, j. This bolster-plate j has a lip, d, extending fromthe front face of the axle, and a quarter-circle, d', extending from therear face of the same.

On the lower face of the bolster m, I securely bolt a bolster-plate,j.This bolster -plate j has a lip, c, extending from the front face of thebolster, and a quarter-circle, c', extending from the rear face of thesame. In the center of this quarter-circle I form an oil-cup, c2, foroiling the fifth-wheel, which is made by these two plates, having thelips c and d and quarter-circles d and c.

The upper brace, h, has its front end secured on the upper face of thespring t' by bolts ex tending down through the cross ends of the same,and through the spring z', the bolsterm, and the bolste`r-plate j, whichare fastened by heads and nuts. This brace 7L then extends backward,andis secured to the upper face of the reach a by bolts and nuts. The lowerbrace, h, is secured to the lower face of the reach a and extendsforward under the axle Z, and is secured by king-bolt a passingthroughits lip f.

I have a center brace, k, Fig. 3, designed for use in the manufacture ofheavy vehicles. When I use this center brace, 7c, it is welded to theupper face of bolster-platej, and is carried back and secured to theupper face of the reach n and under brace h, and securedby the samebolts that secure braces h and h.

My king-bolt a. is made in two pieces having a right and left joint, a',but is perfectly rigid respecting back and front movement. Immediatelybelow this joint a is a shoulder, a2, having a iiat face,which rests onthe upper face of lip c of bolster-plate j. Immediately above this jointa is a bolt-hole, a", through which the king-bolt is securely bolted tothe bolster m. The king-bolt passes through the holes in lips b, c, d,e, and f, and is held in by nuts screwed on its threaded ends, which arebradded down to prevent the nuts from working loose. The brace h',extending from the king-bolt over the top of the spring i, thence to thereach oz, holds the bolster in position so that it cannot sag eitherforward or backward. The combination of the braces 7L and h, kingbolt a,and lips b, c, d, c, and f holds the bolster in and axle Z in aperpendicular position. The right and left hinge a allows the necessaryaction of the bolster when the buggy or other vehicle runs over roughground, Without unusual wear or strain on the same. The cup c2, made inthe quarter-circle cof bolsterplatc 7',allows oiling of therifth-wheelwithout trouble.

Having described my invention, what ,I claini as new and useful, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is l l. The king-bolt a, havingright and left joint a, shoulder a2, resting on the -upper face of lipc, bolt-hole a, by means of which it is bolted to bolster m, saidking-bolt passing through lips b, c, d, e, and f, and being secured bynuts on its upper and lower ends, substantially as shown and described,and for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination of brace 7L, having lip b, brace 71,", having lip f,lip c of aXle Z, bolster-platej, having lip d, bolstcr-platej, havinglip c, and oil-cup c2, and king-bolt a, having right and left joint, andbolt-hole a", said bolt passing perpendicularly through said lips b, c,d, e, and f, substantially as shown and described, and for the purposesset forth.

3. The combination of brace h, having lip b, brace L, having lip f, andbrace 7c,welded to the upper face of bolster-platej, having lip 0,-therear end of said brace being secured to reach n, and king-bolt a,passing perpendicu- 4o larly through said lips b, c, andf, and lips dand e, substantially as shown and described. In testimony whereof I afixiny signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES MILTON HERNDON. Vitnesses:

JN0. D. DnBoIs, FRED S. BARKER.

